Start the New Year off right if you’re planning on applying for a Grad Scheme

Start the New Year off right if you’re planning on applying for a Grad Scheme

By Manpreet Dhesi, on 8 January 2016

Highly sought after by UCL students, graduate schemes have been seen as being the gold medal upon completion of your degree. However only a limited number make it through as competition is tough. On average, there are 85 applications for every single graduate scheme position.

Myth: a degree will be enough. Employers are now looking for more from students. HSBC noted: “We recruit up to 1,500 graduates on to one of our 70 graduate programmes around the world. For those jobs, globally, we receive around 100,000 applications. As 90% have a 2.2 or a 2.1, it therefore takes something extra to stand out.”

The conversion rate from landing that internship in the company you want to work for to securing a place on their graduate scheme can be as high as 70-80% in some companies! Every company wants the best candidates, so do apply early. Some may fill positions whilst recruitment is still happening. Don’t leave it to the last minute to apply. Also, come and get your application reviewed by one of our specialistapplication advisors.

Only 7-10% of graduates who enter the workplace do so through a formal graduate scheme, so how do you maximise your chances at success? Preparation is incredibly important. We’ve put together a handy timeline of things to do, whether you’re a first year or a finalist who hasn’t even thought about what you are going to do when you finish.

UCL Study Level

Spring Term (January – April 2016)

Summer Term(May – August 2016)

Autumn (2016)(Sept 2016 onwards)

First/Second year going into Penultimate year

> Start looking at careers/jobs you may be interested through Careers Tagged

And even if a graduate scheme doesn’t float your boat, we can help you find your future in your chosen career path as a vast number of our alumni go on to work within Charities, NGOs, Media, Law and Science sectors.

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Welcome

The UCL Careers team use this Blog to share their ‘news and views’ about careers with you. You will find snippets about a whole range of career related issues, news from recruiters and links to interesting articles in the media.
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Karen Barnard – Director, UCL Careers
UCL Careers is part of The Careers Group, University of London
Accurate at the time of publication